’  )e  Settlement  of  3fe\os 
tn  ti)e  Hotoer  <Wo  mile# 


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HISTOR  V 


of  the 

SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS  IN 
PADUCAH 

and  the 

LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 

by 

I 

ISAAC  W.  BERN  HEIM 


Published  for  Temple  Israel  by  Reason  of 
the  Generosity  of  Mr.  Joseph  L.  Friedman 


Paducah,  Ky.,  July  1,  1912 


NOTE. 


My  Dear  Mr.  Benedict : 

The  History  of  the  Settlement  of  Jews  in 
Paducah  and  in  the  Lower  Ohio  Valley  has  re¬ 
ceived  its  finishing  touches  and  is  being  for¬ 
warded  by  mail  to  your  address.  Kindly  present 
it,  with  my  best  wishes,  to  the  Jewish  Congre¬ 
gation,  whose  president  I  had  the  honor  to  be 
many,  many  years  ago.  The  old  town  and  its 
kindly  people  have  ever  occupied  a  soft  spot  in 
my  memory,  and  if  the  little  sketch  —  unvar¬ 
nished  and  truthful  —  pleases  them  and  fills  a 
useful  place  in  the  local  history,  I  shall  feel  not 
only  gratified,  but  amply  compensated  for  the 
many  hours  of  my  leisure  time  in  compiling  it. 

Very  truly  yours, 

I.  W.  BERNHEIM. 


238115 


PREFACE. 


The  history  of  the  Jews  of  this  country  is 
very  largely  the  history  of  the  various  congre¬ 
gations.  For  it  was  around  them  that  the  activ¬ 
ities  of  the  Jews  centered,  and  it  was  in  the 
congregational  life  that  they  expressed  them¬ 
selves  best  and  most  distinctively.  An  account 
of  the  beginnings  and  growth  of  any  congrega¬ 
tion,  no  matter  how  small  and  seemingly  insig¬ 
nificant  it  may  be,  constitutes  therefore  a  contri¬ 
bution,  even  though  an  humble  one,  to  the 
internal  history  of  the  Jews  of  the  land.  More¬ 
over,  such  a  record  of  the  efforts  and  strivings 
of  the  early  Jewish  settlers  who  were  the  found¬ 
ers  of  most  of  our  congregations,  the  story  of 
their  loyalty  to,  and  their  enthusiasm  for,  their 
ancestral  faith  under  the  most  trying  and  diffi¬ 
cult  circumstances  cannot  but  be  an  inspiration 
unto  us  and  future  generations.  None  can  read 
such  a  narrative  without  being  stirred  thereby 
and  without  being  strengthened  and  confirmed 
in  his  zeal  and  devotion  to  that  faith  for  which 
our  fathers  were  ever  ready  to  make  sacrifice. 

For  this  account  of  the  Paducah  Congrega¬ 
tion  and  of  the  Jewish  communities  along  the 
Lower  Ohio  Valley  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  I.  W. 
Bernheim,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Paducah, 
but  now  of  Louisville,  Ky.  The  career  of  I.  W. 
Bernheim  is  typical  of  that  of  many  Jews  who, 
a  generation  or  more  ago,  sought  these  shores 


in  the  hope  of  enjoying  more  liberty  and  of  find¬ 
ing  greater  opportunities.  Born  in  Schmieheim, 
Baden,  Germany,  November  4,  1848,  he  came  to 
this  country  April  8,  1867,  with  the  scantiest  of 
capital.  After  peddling  for  about  a  year  in  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania  he  came  to  Paducah,  May 
7,  1868.  Here  he  engaged  in  business  and  grad¬ 
ually  grew  in  wealth  and  influence.  In  1874  he 
married  Miss  Amanda  Uri.  In  1888  he  removed 
to  Louisville,  where  he  is  to-day  one  of  its  most 
influential  citizens,  and  because  of  his  great 
interest  in  things  Jewish  and  his  readiness  to 
contribute  of  his  time  and  means  to  the  cause 
of  Jews  and  Judaism  he  has  won  for  himself  a 
prominent  place  in  American  Jewry. 

It  is  our  hope  that  this  history  of  the  strug¬ 
gles  and  achievements  of  a  small  and  humble 
section  of  Jews  in  this  land  will  be  of  interest  to 
many  and  that  it  will  tend  to  quicken  and  keep 
alive  a  love  and  devotion  for  Israel’s  faith  in  the 
hearts  of  their  descendants. 

RABBI  MEYER  LOVITCH. 

Paducah,  Ky., 

May  28,  1912. 


THE  EARLY  DAYS. 


THE  EARLY  DAYS . 

The  settlement  of  Jews  in  the  Lower 
Ohio  Valley  is  practically  the  story  of 
the  South  German  Immigration  move¬ 
ment  that  had  its  beginning  in  the  years 
previous  to  1840.  It  gradually  increased 
for  over  three  decades  —  its  greatest 
development  ending  with  the  victorious 
prosecution  on  the  part  of  Germany,  of 
the  French  War  in  1870.  Thereafter  the 
Fatherland  afforded  better  chances  of 
profitable  employment.  How  much  this 
and  other  causes,  such  as  a  larger  mea¬ 
sure  of  religious  and  political  freedom, 
are  responsible  for  the  gradual  decrease 
and  almost  total  extinction  of  the  Ger¬ 
man  Immigration  movement,  is  not 
within  the  domain  of  the  author,  whose 
task  it  is  to  trace  briefly  the  settlement 
of  men  of  the  Jewish  Faith  on  the  banks 

of  the  Lower  Ohio.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 

(13) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


co-religionists,  principally  from  Bavaria, 
Baden,  Hechingen  -  Hohenzollern  and 
other  South  German  States,  were  found 
scattered  along  the  Lower  Ohio  and  its 
tributaries  many  years  before  1850. 

These  men,  mostly  young  and  un¬ 
married,  found  their  way  to  the  small 
trading  posts  via  New  York  or  Philadel¬ 
phia,  where,  on  their  arrival  in  this 
country,  they  found  temporary  shelter 
under  the  hospitable  roof  of  some  more 
fortunate  relative  or  countryman  where 
opportunity  was  offered  to  learn  the  first 
rudiments  of  the  English  Language. 
Ambitious  to  improve  their  material 
condition  —  not  unlike  many  other  hu¬ 
man  beings,  who  look  for  the  best 
farthest  from  home  —  they  immigrated 
westward,  crossing  the  Allegheny  Moun¬ 
tains  by  stage  coaches  and  going  thence 
from  Pittsburg  by  steamboat  to  Cincin¬ 
nati  and  Louisville. 

In  these  two  cities  respectable  be¬ 
ginnings  had  successfully  been  made  in 

(14) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


the  formation  of  Jewish  Congregations 
and  it  is  here  that  new  connections  were 
formed  for  commercial  as  well  as  social 
intercourse.  Credit  was  cheerfully  ex¬ 
tended  by  their  co-religionists  who 
already,  in  that  early  period,  conducted 
prosperous  wholesale  establishments. 
In  those  days  it  required  neither  refer¬ 
ences  nor  reports  from  Dun  and  Brad- 
street  to  establish  a  modest  line  of 
credit.  A  good  character,  combined 
with  health,  industry  and  capacity  were 
all  the  requisites  necessary.  Thus  we 
find  these  hardy  pioneers  either  as  ped¬ 
dlers,  or  as  store-keepers,  scattered  along 
the  shores  of  the  Lower  Ohio,  Green, 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Rivers. 
Evansville,  Ind.,  had  a  small  but  grow¬ 
ing  colony  of  Jews,  and  scattered  settle¬ 
ments  can  be  traced  all  the  way  to 
Cairo,  111.,  and  Hickman,  Ky. 

As  early  as  1840,  Owensboro,  Ky., 
had  two  respected  citizens  of  our  faith, 
in  Marcus  Suntheimer  and  Samuel  Moise. 

(15) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


Max  Kohn,  Phillip  Rothschild,  Henry 
Mendel,  Ernest  Weil,  Abraham  Hirsch, 
Simon  Greenbaum,  settled  there  between 
1850  and  1860. 

Henderson,  Ky.,  had  among  its  early 
settlers  H.  Schlesinger,  Koltinsky  Broth¬ 
ers,  Israel  Heyman,  Solomon  Oberdorfer, 
Abraham  Mann,  B.  Baum,  Elias  Ober¬ 
dorfer,  M.  Heilbronner. 

Hartford,  Ohio  County,  Ky.,  near 
Owensboro,  a  little  village  then  as  now, 
counted  among  its  pioneer  merchants 
before  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Gabriel  Netter, 
a  gallant  and  ill-fated  soldier,  of  whom 
you  shall  read  more  later  on. 

Madisonviile,  Hopkins  County,  Ky., 
had,  about  1842  and  for  many  years 
thereafter,  as  its  largest  mercantile  es¬ 
tablishment  that  of  the  Lichten  Broth¬ 
ers.  The  firm  consisted  of  Charles, 
Adolph  and  Morris  Lichten.  Shortly 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  they 
moved  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  they 

(16) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


successfully  conducted  a  wholesale  cloth¬ 
ing  business  for  many  years. 

Mt.  Vernon,  Ind.,  counted  Moses 
and  Daniel  Rosenbaum,  Levi  Hartung, 
David  and  Louis  Mendel,  Sampson  Ober- 
dorfer,  Emanuel  Wolf  among  its  mer¬ 
chants  as  early  as  1854. 

The  Jewish  roster  in  other  nearby 
communities  was: 

Golconda,  Ill.  —  Morris  Kahn. 

Marion,  Crittenden  County,  Ky. — 
Isaac  and  Alexander  Levy,  Selligman 
Ullman. 

Metropolis,  Ill.—  Bernard  Baer  and 
Lehman  Tannhauser, 

Cairo,  Ill.— Isaac  Farnbaker  and 
Isaac  Walter. 

Hickman,  Ky. — Joseph  and  Moses 
Amberg,  Abraham  Goodheart. 

Dycusburg,  Ky.,  on  the  Cumberland 
River  —  Moses  Bloom. 

Eddyville,  Ky.,  on  the  Cumberland 
River —  Leopold  and  Simon  Block. 

Clarksville,  Tenn.,  on  the  Cumber- 

(17) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


land  River  —  B.  Prosser,  I.  Lyons  and 
G.  A.  Roth. 

Florence,  Ala.,  on  the  Tennessee 
River  —  Alexander  W.  Falk. 

Undoubtedly  other  co-religionists 
were  located  in  the  different  little  settle¬ 
ments  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  or  in 
towns  adjacent  thereto.  They  received 
constant  accessions  from  their  old  homes. 
Among  others,  I  recall  Gustav  Ellenbo- 
gen,  who  came  to  Smithland  about  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War. 
Before  he  had  had  time  to  learn  the 
English  language  he  joined  the  Confed¬ 
erate  Army  and  fought  through  the  war, 
returning  to  Paducah  a  ragged  veteran 
in  1865. 


(18) 


PADUCAH  A  SANCTUARY 
OF  ISRAEL. 


PADUCAH  A  SANCTUARY 
OF  ISRAEL 

Paducah,  that  friendly  town  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  River,  was  for  many 
years  previous  to  the  war  overshadowed 
in  importance  as  a  shipping  and  com¬ 
mercial  town  by  Smithland,  its  neighbor. 
If  the  war  had  not  intervened  and  river 
navigation  had  not  been  superceded  by 
the  railroads,  it  might  have  been,  indeed, 
to-day  my  duty  to  write  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  beginnings  of  the  Jew¬ 
ish  congregation  in  Smithland,  rather 
than  that  of  the  one  in  Paducah. 
The  former  is  located  at  the  junction  of 
the  Cumberland  and  Ohio  Rivers ;  it  is 
beautifully  elevated,  has  a  fine  harbor, 
and  is  surrounded  by  an  excellent  agri¬ 
cultural  country.  It  counted,  in  the 
early  fifties,  among  its  prominent  mer¬ 
chants,  Benjamin  Weille,  Samuel  Drey- 

(21) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


fuss,  M.  Livingston,  Leopold  Levy,  Sam¬ 
son  Rosenfield,  Isaac  and  Jacob  Eckstein 
and  Samuel  Rexinger.  The  last,  soon 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Civil 
War,  joined  the  Federal  Army  as  a  pri¬ 
vate  and  by  bravery  on  the  field  of  battle 
rose  to  the  rank  of  captain.  When  hos¬ 
tilities  ceased,  he  settled  in  Clarksville, 
Tenn.,  and  filled  the  office  of  postmaster 
for  many  years. 

Paducah  labored  under  many  serious 
disadvantages,  for  the  country  back  of 
it  was  poor  and  unproductive.  Its  loca¬ 
tion  was  fiat  and  not  susceptible  to  proper 
drainage,  hence  it  was  subject  to  malaria 
and  kindred  diseases.  Besides,  its  few 
inhabitants  could  not  compare  at  all 
favorably  in  wealth  with  those  of  the 
neighboring  town,  which  sheltered  men 
of  capacity  and  owners  of  many  slaves. 

Paducah’s  earliest  settlers  of  the 
Jewish  faith  consisted  of  Morris  and 
Abraham  Uri,  D.  Loewenstein  and  Leo¬ 
pold  Klaw.  They  conducted  small 

(22) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


country  stores  on  what  was  called  Front 
street,  in  a  row  of  frame  buildings  of 
inferior  character,  which  were  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1851,  when  nearly  every  store 
house  in  the  town  was  burned  down. 
Undaunted  by  this  calamity,  its  citizens 
commenced  to  rebuild  on  a  more  sub¬ 
stantial  scale.  A  year  or  two  after  the 
fire,  when  a  charter  wTas  procured  for  a 
company  to  build  a  railroad  from  Padu¬ 
cah  to  tap  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad 
at,  or  near,  Union  City,  Tenn.,  sixty  odd 
miles  distant,  it  quickly  grasped  the  op¬ 
portunity  and  advantages  that  the  rail¬ 
road  bid  fair  to  bestow.  New  business 
houses  went  up,  real  estate  advanced 
and  the  business  of  Paducah  increased 
largely  thereafter.  We  find  a  year  or 
two  before  the  Civil  War  —  about  1859  — 
a  considerable  number  of  our  co-relig- 
ionists  occupying  places  of  increasing 
prominence  in  the  growing  towns. 

Williams’  Paducah  City  Directory 

for  1859  records  the  following  inhabi- 

(23) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


tants  and  firms  of  the  Jewish  faith: 

“  Isaac  Bodenheimer. 

“  Greenbaum  &  Kaskel,  composed 
of  Solomon  Greenbaum  and  Ceasar  Kas¬ 
kel. 

“  Louis  Harris. 

“  Nathan  Kahn. 

‘‘  Klaw  &  Bloomgard,  composed  of 
Leopold  Klaw  and  Jos.  Bloomgard. 

“H.  Levy. 

“  Meyer  Lieber. 

“  Loeb  &  Wile,  composed  of  Reuben 
Loeb  and  Jos.  Wile. 

“  D.  Lowenstein. 

“  D.  Wolff  &  Bro.,  composed  of  Dan¬ 
iel,  Marcus  and  Alexander  Wolff. 

“  C.  Frank  &  Co.,  composed  of  Chas. 
Frank,  Simon  Goldsmith  and  Abraham 
Goldsmith.” 

Mr.  Ceasar  Kaskel  left  Paducah 
during  the  war,  and  founded  the  well- 
known  Kaskel  haberdashery  store  on 
Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  which  still 

continues  under  that  name. 

(24) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


Mr.  Leo.  Klaw  was  the  father  of 
two  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  born  in 
Paducah.  Mr.  Marc  Klaw,  the  oldest 
son,  perhaps  the  first  male  child  of  the 
Jewish  faith  born  in  Paducah,  is  now  at 
the  head  of  the  theatrical  syndicate  of 
Klaw  &  Erlanger,  of  New  York,  and  is 
a  factor  in  the  American  Drama. 

Reuben  Loeb  later  formed  a  part¬ 
nership  with  Moses  Bloom,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Loeb  &  Bloom. 

Mr.  Joseph  Wile  returned  to  Ger¬ 
many  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 

D.  Wolff  &  Bro.  became  the  suc¬ 
cessors  of  Morris  Uri,  who  located  in 
Louisville  in  1863  and  who  re-entered 
business  in  Paducah  in  1870,  where  he 
died  in  1872.  The  “  Wolff  boys,”  as  they 
were  called  by  many  Paducah  people, 
returned  to  Germany  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  war. 


(25) 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  COM¬ 
MUNAL  LIFE. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  COM¬ 
MUNAL  LIFE. 

Jewish  communal  life  took  form  in 
1859,  when  “  Chevra  Yeshurum  Burial 
Society  ”  was  organized  and  a  small 
parcel  of  land  for  a  cemetery  was  ac¬ 
quired  on  what  was  then  called  the  Clin¬ 
ton  Road,  about  four  miles  from  the 
town  limit.  The  deed  to  this  property 
was  only  recorded  in  1864.  The  delay 
was  no  doubt  caused  by  the  Civil  War. 
This  small  area  has  since  been  enlarged 
by  subsequent  purchases  until  now  it 
has,  with  the  aid  of  the  landscape  gar¬ 
dener,  been  converted  into  an  attractive 
and  well-kept  City  of  the  Dead.  The 
society  was  later  chartered  by  the  State 
Legislature  under  an  act  approved  Feb¬ 
ruary  20th,  1864.  A.  Goldsmith,  M.  Uri, 
C.  Frank  and  D.  Wolff  are  named  in  the 

instrument  as  the  incorporators. 

(29) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


Paducah  steadily  maintained  its 
growth.  The  manufacturing  interests 
multiplied.  Two  banks,  one  of  which  had 
a  capital  of  over  $1,000,000,  were  ably 
and  conservatively  managed.  Gas 
works  were  constructed.  Wholesale 
houses  flourished  and  did  a  large  volume 
of  trade.  The  New  Orleans  and  Ohio 
Railroad  was  in  course  of  construction. 
In  short,  Paducah  basked  in  the  sun¬ 
shine  of  prosperity  and  rightly  looked 
forward  to  still  better  and  larger  things 
in  the  future,  when  the  dread  tocsin  of 
Civil  War  was  heard  from  afar. 

As  its  echoes  resounded  from  moun¬ 
tain  to  hill  top  and  reverberated  from 
valley  to  plain,  it  reached  the  bustling, 
yet  peaceful  city  of  Paducah.  It  is 
within  the  province  of  the  author  to 
describe  the  baneful  result  of  that  sad 
period  only  in  so  far  as  it  affected  the 
fortune  and  well-being  of  this  little 
community  of  co-religionists.  Paducah 

did  not  escape  the  blighting  and  de- 

(30) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


structive  influence  of  the  great  war. 

On  its  outbreak,  the  tools  of  the 
mechanic  were  laid  aside,  the  hissing 
steam  of  the  factories  was  silenced; 
contracts  for  building  houses  were  can¬ 
celled,  and  everyone  lounged  listlessly 
about  the  street  wondering  “what  things 
will  come  to.”  About  this  time,  the 
United  States  Government,  through  Sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Treasury  Chase,  established 
an  embargo  on  trade  and  commerce  be¬ 
tween  the  loyal  and  disaffected  States. 
Paducah  was  the  first  city  in  Kentucky 
to  which  it  applied,  though  in  justice  to 
its  citizens  it  must  be  recorded  that  at 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities  it  did  not 
count  a  half-dozen  outspoken  secession¬ 
ists. 

In  September,  1861,  General  Grant 
came  up  from  Cairo,  Ill.,  and  took  pos¬ 
session  of  Paducah.  Years  after  the 
war  it  was  related  by  those  who  cour¬ 
ageously  remained  in  order  to  protect 
their  property,  how  men  and  women 

(31) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


fled  in  the  wildest  consternation  to  the 
country,  fearing  great  harm  from  the 
Federal  soldiers.  General  Grant  at  once 
issued  an  order  proclaiming  that  he 
came  not  to  harm  them,  but  to  guard 
and  protect  them,  yet  the  fact  remained 
that  Paducah  was  promptly  converted 
into  a  military  post  and  remained  a  mili¬ 
tary  post  from  that  time  to  the  end  of 
the  war.  Under  the  then  existing  mili¬ 
tary  regulations,  the  commander  of  the 
post  exercised  complete  supervision  of 
the  business  of  the  town.  Not  a  pound 
of  freight  was  allowed  to  be  shipped 
into  the  place  without  his  written  per¬ 
mission,  nor  was  it  lawful  to  ship  a  dol¬ 
lar’s  worth  of  goods  out  of  the  town 
without  a  military  permit.  Trade  and 
commerce  flourishes  most  where  least 
interfered  with.  It  became  impossible 
to  carry  on  business  under  such  unfor¬ 
tunate  conditions.  The  belief  prevailed 
that  the  trouble  would  soon  blow  over, 

but  when  months  of  stress  and  storm 

(32) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


lengthened  into  years,  and  when  finally 
the  Confederate  General  Forest  made 
his  raid  into  Tennessee  and  incidentally 
paid  a  hurried  visit  to  Paducah  in  March, 
1863,  bringing  in  his  train  death  and  de¬ 
struction,  all  attempts  at  orderly,  safe 
and  sane  municipal  government  were 
for  the  time  abandoned.  A  period  of 
unrest  and  insecurity  took  hold  of  the 
citizens  and  chaos  prevailed  everywhere. 
Families  moved  their  belongings  to 
places  of  safety.  Stores  were  closed. 
Little  stocks  of  merchandise  were  hur¬ 
riedly  packed  and  re-shipped  to  points  of 
greater  safety.  Dread  and  apprehension 
lay  like  a  pall  upon  the  town. 

Those  in  truth  were  the  dark  days. 
What  little  of  communal,  social  and  com¬ 
mercial  activity  still  existed  was  almost 
completely  suspended,  and  it  was  only 
the  surrender  at  Appomattox  in  1865 
that  brought  new  hope  and  courage  to 
its  people  and  again  revived  the  firm  con¬ 
viction  in  the  minds  of  Paducah's  citi- 

(33) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


zens  that  its  destiny  to  become  a  large 
and  prosperous  center  of  population  had 
only  been  delayed  by  war,  and  not  de¬ 
stroyed. 


(84) 


A  JEWISH  WAR-TIME  HERO. 


A  JEWISH  WAR-TIME  HERO. 


Yet,  out  of  the  travail  and  despair 
of  those  war-time  days  there  was  born 
to  Kentucky  Judaism  an  imperishable 
tradition  of  valor.  The  region  of  the 
Lower  Ohio  gave  to  the  Union  cause  a 
real  hero  in  the  lamented  Colonel  Gabriel 
Netter,  and  I  regard  it  a  privilege  to  be 
able  to  record  on  the  pages  of  this  little 
volume  some  tribute  to  his  worth  as  a 
man  and  his  courage  as  a  soldier. 

Colonel  Netter  was  a  Frenchman  by 
birth,  but  a  true  American  by  adoption. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  was  do¬ 
ing  a  profitable  business  in  Ohio  County. 
All  desire  for  personal  or  material  ad¬ 
vancement  melted  under  the  swift  rush 
of  his  patriotism.  He  enlisted  as  a  pri¬ 
vate  and  rose  to  be  colonel. 

He  had  spent  some  time  at  Evans¬ 
ville,  Indiana,  and  his  friends  and  fellow 

(37) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


citizens  held  him  in  such  admiration  that 
they  presented  him  with  a  sword  and 
sash.  Fortunately,  I  have  the  corres¬ 
pondence  which  relates  to  this  testimo¬ 
nial,  and  I  reproduce  it. 

The  letter  which  preceded  the  gift 
is  as  follows : 


Evansville,  Ind.,  Aug.,  ’62. 
Col.  Gabriel  Netter, 

Hartford,  Ky. 

Sir : — 

Some  of  your  old  friends  and  citizens  of 
Evansville,  appreciating  your  services  and  ap¬ 
proving  your  courage  and  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
our  country,  desire  to  present  you  a  sword  and 
sash  accompanying  this  letter.  Although  but  a 
slight  testimonial,  they  feel  assured  you  will 
prize  it  and  will  continue  to  persevere  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  glorious  undertaking  until  the 
last  of  our  country’s  enemies  shall  be  put  down. 

You  will,  then,  accept  this  token  of  their 
approbation  for  past  services  and  assurance  of 
kind  regards. 

With  best  wishes  for  future  success,  1  have 
the  honor  to  be, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  E.  HOLLINGSWORTH, 

Col.  2d  Indiana  Legion. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  char- 

(38) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


acteristic  of  this  man  than  his  response, 
which  reads : 

Headquarters  Netter  Battallion, 
Hartford,  Ky.,  Aug.  10th,  1862. 
Col.  W.  E.  Hollingsworth, 

Com’d’ing  2d  Ind.  Legion, 

Evansville,  Ind. 

Colonel : — 

The  handsome  sash,  beautiful  sword,  and  so 
very  kind  letter,  presented  to  me  by  yourself 
and  others  of  your  true,  loyal  and  generous 
townsmen,  came  all  duly  to  hand  to-day. 

With  my  heart  only,  not  with  words,  can  or 
will  I  thank  you.  Such  an  encouragement  from 
my  countrymen  is  a  compliment  to  be  remem¬ 
bered  to  the  last. 

May  God  grant  me  to  show  and  prove  myself 
worthy  of  your  generosity  and  kindness— worthy 
of  taking  my  humble  share  in  the  war  for  the 
redemption  of  our  country. 

May  He  grant  me,  if  I  fall,  to  fall  with  my 
face  to  the  foe,  my  last  breath  expending  itself 
in  a  kiss  to  the  fine  blade  you  presented  me  with, 
my  last  prayer  to  be  listened  to  by  the  Almighty, 
for  the  speedy  success  of  our  noble  and  holy 
cause. 

Believe  me,  sir,  forever, 

Your  true  friend, 

GABRIEL  NETTER, 

Lt.  Col.  Comm'g. 

P.  S.— To  my  friends,  please  be  patient.  I 
have  got  a  great  deal  to  contend  with.  I  was 

(39) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


sent  to  this  place  without  a  man  or  a  gun  and 
have  been  much  neglected  since  ;  but  I  will  get 
ready,  by  the  by,  nevertheless. 

G.  N. 

For  some  measure  of  Colonel  Netter 
as  an  old  comrade  saw  him,  and  which 
is  perhaps  better  than  any  that  I  could 
pay,  I  am  indebted  to  the  following  very 
interesting  letter  from  Mr.  C.  B.  Mit¬ 
chell,  of  Owensboro,  one  of  the  few  sur¬ 
viving  members  of  the  Netter  Battalion  : 

Owensboro,  Ky.,  Sept.  11th,  1911. 

I.  W.  Bernheim, 

Louisville,  Ky. 

Dear  Sir :  — 

Replying  further  and  more  at  length  to  your 
favor  of  the  2nd  inst.  making  inquiries  in  regard 
to  the  character  and  life  of  Colonel  Gabriel 
Netter,  and  especially  his  short  but  brilliant 
military  career,  I  will  say  that  I  served  under 
him  but  a  brief  time,  but  during  that  time,  as 
short  as  it  was,  I  had  an  exceptionally  good 
opportunity  to  learn  a  good  deal  about  the  man, 
and  the  more  1  saw  of  him  and  the  better  1 
knew  him,  the  more  I  admired  him,  and  it  affords 
me  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  be  permitted  to 
offer  my  humble  tribute  to  his  memory. 

I  have  heard  him  spoken  of  as  “A  little 
Dutchman,”  by  way  of  derision,  but  if  1  am 
correctly  informed,  he  was  a  French  Jew.  In 

(40) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


this  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  do  not  think  that 
I  am.  But  whether  French  or  German,  he  was 
an  honor  to  his  race  and  to  the  country  that  gave 
him  birth. 

He  was  rather  under  the  medium  size,  prob¬ 
ably  about  five  feet  six  inches  in  height,  and 
weighed  about  one  hundred  and  forty  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  but  well  formed  and 
well  proportioned ;  light  complexion  and  of  fine 
personal  appearance,  and  of  very  pleasing  ad¬ 
dress,  courteous  and  affable  in  his  manner  and 
as  polite  as  the  proverbial  French  dancing  mas¬ 
ter.  Gentle  as  a  lamb,  he  was  as  brave  as  a 
lion. 

I  was  told  that  prior  to  the  war  he  was 
selling  goods  at  Cromwell,  Ohio  county,  Ky., 
but  the  first  I  knew  of  him  was  when  he  re¬ 
cruited  a  company  and  went  into  the  army  as  a 
captain  in  the  Twenty-sixth  Kentucky  Infantry, 
which  was  raised  and  mustered  into  the  service 
at  Owensboro,  Ky.,  some  time  in  the  fall  of 
1861. 

While  serving  with  that  regiment,  he  dis¬ 
tinguished  himself  to  such  an  extent!  that  some 
time  early  in  the  summer  of  1862  he  was  com¬ 
missioned  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Fifteenth 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  and  was  authorized  by  the 
Governor  to  recruit  a  regiment  to  be  called  the 
Thirty-fourth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry.  He 
first  established  his  camp  at  Hartford,  but  soon 
afterwards  removed  his  headquarters  to  Owens¬ 
boro,  where  I  enlisted  with  him  on  the  15th  day 
of  August,  1862. 


(41) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


I  had  formed  an  opinion,  from  what  I  had 
heard  of  him,  that  he  was  a  reckless  dare-devil, 
and  hesitated  somewhat  to  enroll  myself  under 
his  standard,  but  a  recruiting  officer  who  wished 
me  to  join  his  company  insisted  that  I  had  mis¬ 
judged  the  colonel,  and  at  his  suggestion  I  vis¬ 
ited  the  camp  and  was  introduced  to  Colonel 
Netter  and  conversed  with  him  and  heard  him 
talking  to  others  and  soon  became  convinced 
that,  although  he  was  a  man  of  undoubted  cour¬ 
age,  he  was  also  a  man  of  discretion  and  sound 
judgment,  and  would  not  needlessly  expose  his 
men  or  make  a  move  unless  he  saw  that  there 
was  something  to  be  gained  by  it. 

On  that  eventful  morning  of  September 
19th,  1862,  a  very  heavy  fog  covered  the  earth, 
and  no  object  was  visible  except  at  a  very  short 
distance.  We  were  camped  at  the  fair  grounds, 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  west  of  the  town, 
and  probably  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from 
the  Ohio  river.  At  a  very  early  hour  in  the 
morning,  say  about  6:30,  a  Union  man  who  lived 
near  the  western  limits  of  the  town,  favored  by 
the  fog,  came  breathlessly  into  camp  and  in¬ 
formed  us  that  the  town  was  full  of  rebels,  that 
there  was  a  whole  regiment  of  them  had  pos¬ 
session  of  the  town.  They  had  traveled  all 
night  and  had  certainly  taken  us  by  surprise. 

Of  course,  we  expected  a  fight,  and  while 
we  were  making  the  necessary  preparations,  a 
young  negro  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  who 
had  formerly  been  in  my  employ,  made  his  way 
into  camp  and  hunted  me  up  and  told  me  he  had 

(42) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


overheard  a  conversation  between  some  of  the 
rebel  soldiers,  from  which  he  learned  that  they 
had  divided  their  forces  and  that  about  one-half 
of  them  occupied  a  strip  of  woods  west  of  our 
camp,  expecting  that  our  colonel  would  immedi¬ 
ately  advance  to  engage  the  enemy  in  town, 
and  then  they  would  come  in,  take  possession  of 
the  camp  and  appropriate  or  destroy  all  of  the 
government  property  there,  which  was  sufficient 
to  equip  a  whole  regiment.  I  took  the  negro  to 
my  captain  and  he  took  him  to  the  colonel,  who, 
after  questioning  him  closely,  came  to  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  the  negro  was  probably  telling  the 
truth,  and  that  at  any  rate  he  would  investigate 
the  matter  and  find  out  for  himself,  and  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  make  his  plans  accordingly. 

He  had  probably  about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  men  enlisted  at  this  time,  but  they  were 
scattered  all  over  the  surrounding  country  re¬ 
cruiting,  and  there  was  not  to  exceed  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  men  in  camp.  He  had  one  piece 
of  artillery  (a  six-pound  brass  gun),  which  he 
left  with  our  company  of  about  twenty-five  men, 
besides  the  gun  squad,  to  watch  the  town,  and 
he  started  down  the  Dublin  lane  toward  the 
river,  with  about  two  hundred  men.  He  only 
went  a  short  distance  when  he  halted  his  men 
and  returned  to  give  some  final  instructions  to 
the  captain  commanding  our  company.  By  this 
time  the  fog  had  disappeared,  and  while  he  was 
still  engaged  in  giving  his  orders  to  our  captain, 
a  rebel  officer  was  seen  approaching  from  the 
direction  of  the  town  bearing  a  flag  of  truce. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


He  was  halted  by  the  pickets  who  were  stationed 
a  short  distance  up  the  road  toward  town.  When 
the  attention  of  the  colonel  was  called  to  him, 
he  motioned  for  the  pickets  to  pass  him  in  and  ad¬ 
vanced  a  short  distance  to  meet  him.  After  a 
few  words  had  passed  between  them  unheard  by 
us,  he  came  back  to  us  accompanied  by  the  rebel 
officer  and  addressing  us  in  a  tone  of  voice  as 
gentle  as  though  he  was  speaking  to  a  company 
of  ladies,  said : 

“  Boys,  this  officer  comes  with  a  flag  of  truce 
from  Lieutenat-colonel  Martin,  who,  with  eight 
hundred  guerillas ,  has  possession  of  the  town 
and  demands  of  me  a  surrender  of  all  of  my 
command  and  of  all  of  the  government  property 
in  my  possession.  I  want  you  to  hear  my  an¬ 
swer.” 

He  then  turned  facing  the  rebel  officer,  and, 
with  a  graceful  wave  oi  hand,  pointed  towards 
the  ground,  and  said  : 

“  NEVER,  till  the  last  man  of  us  is  laid  low 
in  the  dust.” 

He  then  turned  to  us,  and  in  the  same  mild 
and  gentle  tone  of  voice  inquired  :  “  Boys,  does 

my  answer  suit  you  ?  ” 

Such  was  the  confidence  that  we  had  in  our 
brave  young  commander,  that  there  was  nothing 
else  for  us  to  do  but  to  do  just  what  we  did,  and 
that  was  to  swing  our  caps  in  the  air  and  respond 
with  three  nearty  and  lusty  cheers.  The  rebel 
officer  seemed  to  be  deeply  impressed  by  the 
scene,  for  there  was  no  acting  in  this.  It  was 
all  very  serious,  sober  reality.  We  were  in  the 

(44) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


presence  of  possible  and  probable  death,  and  it 
proved  to  be  nearer  than  even  any  of  us  antici¬ 
pated. 

The  rebel  officer  remarked,  as  he  prepared 
to  retire  :  “  Colonel,  I  carry  back  with  me  the 

most  profound  respect  for  you  and  your  brave 
men."  With  a  parting  salute,  he  returned  to 
deliver  his  message  to  his  chief,  and  the  colonel 
joined  his  command  that  had  been  waiting  for 
him  in  the  lane.  He  moved  on  to  the  river,  then 
down  the  river  road  a  short  distance,  over  the 
fence  into  a  corn  field,  where  he  met  the  enemy, 
and  a  lively  skirmish  ensued.  In  less  than  an 
hour  from  the  time  that  he  refused  to  surrender, 
he  was  brought  back  to  camp  a  lifeless  corpse. 

Thus  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-six  one 
of  the  most  promising  young  men  that  the  war 
thus  far  had  developed.  :rv:® 

Had  he  lived  through  the  war,  I  doubt  not 
but  that  his  splendid  talents  and  military  genius 
would  have  received  proper  recognition,  and  a 
brigadier’s,  if  not  a  major  general’s  commission, 
would  have  been  his  reward  before  the  peace 
was  finally  secured.  His  name  and  fame  would 
have  been  placed  along  side  of  such  men  as 
Sheridan,  Kilpatrick  and  Custer. 

He  was  of  that  race  of  people  that  produced 
a  Joshua,  a  Gideon  and  a  David  ;  and  that  na¬ 
tionality  |that  claimed  a  LaFayette  among  its 
honored  citizens,  and  gave  to  the  world,  in  the 
person  of  Napoleon,  the  greatest  military  genius 
of  all  history.  And  neither  Jew  nor  Frenchman 
need  ever  blush  at  the  sound  of  the  name  of 
Gabriel  Netter. 


(45) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


He  had  a  married  sister  living  in  Evansville, 
Indiana,  who  was  at  once  notified  of  his  death. 
Her  husband  came  up  on  the  first  boat  and  took 
charge  of  the  remains,  but  only  after  we  had 
been  permitted  to  pass  by  the  bier,  with  arms 
reversed,  and  take  one  last  and  farewell  look  at 
the  features  of  our  beloved  commander.  He 
was  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  at  Evansville. 

Just  twenty  years  after  that  time,  the  Fed¬ 
eral  soldiers  of  this  place  received  an  invitation 
to  visit  Evansville  and  participate  in  the  services 
incident  to  Memorial  or  Decoration  Day  on  May 
30th,  1882.  Comrade  John  A.  Brown,  who  had 
served  in  the  same  company  with  myself,  and 
who,  like  myself,  was  a  devoted  admirer  of 
Colonel  Netter,  got  into  communication  with  the 
family  of  the  colonel’s  sister,  then  a  widow,  and 
informed  them  that  a  few  of  the  colonel’s  old 
soldiers  would  be  down  at  that  time  and  were 
desirous  of  finding  his  grave,  in  order  that  we 
might  honor  his  memory  in  a  special  manner. 

When  we  arrived  at  Evansville,  and  were 
escorted  to  Evans  Hall,  where  headquarters  had 
been  established,  we  found  two  of  his  nieces 
there  waiting  to  greet  us,  and  who  exhibited  to 
us  his  sword  and  sash  that  he  had  worn  while 
with  us  in  person.  They  also  had  with  them  a 
photograph  picture  of  him,  which  afforded  us  a 
sad  pleasure. 

After  the  general  memorial  services  were 
concluded,  the  survivors  of  the  old  Netter  Bat¬ 
talion  were  conducted  to  his  grave  on  a  private 
lot  in  the  cemetery,  and  after  a  short  address 

(46) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


by  Colonel  John  H.  McHenry,  formerly  colonel 
of  the  Seventeenth  Kentucky  Infantry,  who 
knew  him  well  and  appreciated  his  worth,  we 
proceeded  to  place  our  floral  offerings  on  the 
mound  that  marked  the  place  where  slept  our 
honored  dead.  With  sad  hearts,  awakened  by 
the  memory  of  the  loss  of  one  whom  we  loved 
so  well,  we  silently  and  reverently  took  our 
departure  from  the  hallowed  spot  and  left  him 
alone  in  his  glory. 

After  his  death,  his  recruits  were  transfer¬ 
red  to  and  mustered  in  as  part  of  the  Twelfth 
Kentucky  Cavalry,  but  we  still  held  to  the  name 
and  were  proud  to  designate  ourselves  as  the 
“  Netter  Battalion.’ ’ 

With  kindest  regards,  I  remain, 

Very  truly  yours, 

C.  B.  MITCHELL, 

One  of  the  “  Netter  Battalion.” 


(47) 


PEACE  AND  PROSPERITY. 


PEACE  AND  PROSPERITY. 


With  the  dawn  of  peace  came  law, 
order  and  security.  These  fundamental 
requirements  of  well-ordered  society  and 
successful  commercial  endeavor,  stimu¬ 
lated  all  citizens  to  renewed  efforts  to 
efface  the  ravages  of  the  previous  years. 
Stores  were  re-opened  and  factories 
were  re-established.  Many  of  the  old 
settlers  returned,  and  even  the  New  Or¬ 
leans  and  Ohio  Railroad,  which  during 
the  war  had  had  a  checkered  career, 
verging  on  the  point  of  bankruptcy,  re¬ 
sumed  operations  and  established  a  reg¬ 
ular  tri-weekly  train  service  between 
Paducah  and  Union  City,  Tenn. 

Twyman’s  Paducah  City  Directory, 
published  in  1866,  enumerates  the  fol¬ 
lowing  names  of  citizens  of  the  Jewish 


Faith: 

A.  Aaron 
Moses  Adler 


Julius  Kahn 

Nathan  Kahn 
(51) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


Moses  Bloom  J.  W.  Kaskell 

Isaac  Bodenheimer  Meyer  Lieber 
Louis  Bodenheimer  M.  Livingston 
Henry  Dryfuss  R.  Loeb 
N.  Dryfuss  A.  Solomon 

S.  Fels  Joseph  Ullman 

David  Friedman  Meyer  Weil 
Herman  Friedman  Jacob  Weil 
Julius  Friedman  Henry  Weil 
Abraham  Goldsmith  Berthold  Weil 
Simon  Goldsmith  Benjamin  Weille 


A.  Goodheart 
Louis  Harris 
Chas.  H.  Kahn 
Moses  Kahn 


Bernard  Weil 
F.  Wile 
Joseph  Wile 
Abraham  Wolf 


Chas.  H.  Kahn  conducted  a  dry 
goods  store  with  his  brothers,  Moses  and 
Julius,  and  sold  out  his  interest  to  the 
latter  about  1870,  when  he  emigrated  to 
Texas.  He  served  as  chief  of  the  Dallas 
fire  department  for  several  years. 

Joseph  Ullman,  son  of  Selligman 
Ullman,  came  from  Marion,  Ky.,  At  the 

outbreak  of  the  war  he  and  his  brother 

(52) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


Jacob  joined  the  Confederate  forces. 
Joseph  fought  throughout  the  entire 
war. 

Meyer  Weil,  a  distinguished  looking 
man  and  fearless  to  the  point  of  reck¬ 
lessness,  conducted,  before  the  war,  a 
flourishing  business,  first  in  Wadesboro, 
Ky.,  then  in  partnership  with  his  broth¬ 
ers,  Jacob  and  Henry,  in  Mayfield,  Ky. 
Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  war  they 
m#ved  to  Paducah,  where  they  engaged 
in  the  dry  goods  business.  He  dissolved 
partnership  with  his  brothers  and  became 
an  extensive  handler  of  leaf  tobacco. 
Myer  Weil  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  First  National  Bank,  and  served  for 
many  years  as  one  of  its  directors.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  war  he  was  a  staunch  Union 
man,  but  at  the  close  allied  himself  with 
the  Democratic  Party.  He  served  Pa¬ 
ducah  with  credit  and  ability  as  Mayor 
for  eight  years.  He  was  elected  in  1871 
and  re-elected  in  1877.  Later  he  acted 

as  City  Tax  Collector,  and  in  1888  he 

(53) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


represented  McCracken  County  in  the 
Kentucky  Legislature  for  two  terms.  He 
was  an  intelligent  and  forceful  man,  a 
native  of  Haigerloch,  Germany.  He 
died  April  13th,  1891,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
one. 

Among  the  above  names  I  find  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  all  branches  of  trade,  from 
shoe-maker,  tailor  and  baker  to  whole¬ 
sale  dealers  in  dry  goods,  groceries,  whis¬ 
kies  and  tobacco.  The  community  en¬ 
joyed  a  very  prosperous  period  immedi¬ 
ately  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
because  of  its  proximity  to  the  States  of 
Tennessee  and  Alabama,  which  were 
practically  bare  of  the  necessaries,  as 
well  as  the  comforts  of  life,  and  conse¬ 
quently,  when  unrestricted  communica¬ 
tions  were  restored,  they  docked  to  Pa¬ 
ducah  and  laid  in  supplies.  Whole  fam¬ 
ilies  came  down  the  Tennessee  and 
Cumberland  Rivers  with  gold  which  had 
not  seen  the  light  of  day  since  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  war.  This  commercial 

(54) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


activity  brought  back  refugees  who  had 
left  during  the  war,  and  attracted  set¬ 
tlers  from  other  sections  of  the  country, 
as  well  as  from  Europe. 

Among  those  of  our  co-religionists 
who  settled  in  the  period  from  1867  to 
1870,  I  recall  from  a  memory,  perhaps 
somewhat  faulty,  the  following : 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  Uri  and  family. 

Mr.  Alexander  Levy  and  family. 

Mr.  Isaac  Levy  and  family. 

Henry  Burgauer. 

Julius  Weil. 

Isaac  W.  Bernheim. 

Samuel  K.  Cohn. 

Simon  Dryfuss. 

Nathan  Klein  and  family. 

Solomon  Marks. 

Jacob  Marks. 

Louis  Gross. 

Herman  and  Jacob  Wallerstein. 

Solomon  Kuhn. 

Lee  Schwab. 

Samuel  Fels. 

Leopold  Dryfuss. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moses  Adler. 

(55) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


The  old  Chevra  Yeshurum,  like  local 
religious  associations  of  other  sects,  suf¬ 
fered  a  lethargic  existence  during  the 
war.  After  its  close,  the  reconstruction 
period  kept  Jew  and  Gentile  in  a  high 
state  of  excitement.  Spiritual  endeavor 
had  to  await  the  settlement  of  questions 
seriously  affecting  the  civic  and  economic, 
as  well  as  the  social  welfare  of  the  in¬ 
habitants. 

Not  until  the  fall  of  1868  was  an  ef¬ 
fort  made  to  organize  for  Jewish  wor¬ 
ship.  The  first  services  of  New  Year 
and  the  Day  of  Atonement  were  held  on 
th@  third  floor  over  M.  Livingston  &  Com¬ 
pany’s  dry  goods  store,  at  the  corner  of 
Market  and  Broadway  (now  Second  and 
Broadway) .  Mr.  Livingston  was  at  that 
time  the  President  of  the  Chevra,  and  it 
was  he  that  auctioned  off  the  seats.  The 
proceeds  were  used  for  the  purpose  of 
defraying  the  necessary  expenses.  One 
of  the  main  items  of  expense  consisted 
in  the  employment  of  a  reader  to  con- 

(56) 


IN  THE  LOV/ER  OHIO  VALLEY 


duct  the  services.  The  traveling  reader, 
I  may  add,  was  a  peculiar  institution, 
while  Judaism  was  in  its  formative 
period  in  the  smaller  cities  of  our  land. 
The  applicant  for  a  position  almost 
always  styled  himself  a  Rabbi.  Upon 
investigation,  he  was  either  found  to  be 
an  unsuccessful  German  teacher  or  an 
individual  who  claimed  to  have  attended 
some  Yeshiba  in  Poland.  In  some  cases 
the  applicant  was  a  foreign  clerk,  with¬ 
out  a  job,  who  had  a  smattering  of  He¬ 
brew  knowledge.  They  were  a  peculiar 
and  none  too  conscientious  lot.  In  some 
instances  they  carried  with  them  a 
Shofer  and  a  Sefer  Thora  —  their  tools  in 
the  trade.  About  the  holidays  the  woods 
were  full  of  them  and  many  were  th  e 
stories  related  about  them.  After  the 
holidays  they  disappeared,  eked  out  a 
very  precarious  living,  only  to  reappear 
again  on  the  scene  of  action  the  follow¬ 
ing  year. 


(57) 


A  HOUSE  OF  WORSHIP 

AT  LAST. 


A  HOUSE  OF  WORSHIP  AT  LAST 


During  the  following  years  (1869 
and  1870) ,  the  holiday  services  were  con¬ 
ducted  in  the  same  place.  The  Orthodox 
lines  were  strictly  maintained.  Family 
pews  were  not  tolerated,  and  the  Hebrew 
language  was  used  exclusively. 

The  year  1870  saw  the  organization 
of  the  B’nai  Brith  Lodge.  The  installa¬ 
tion  of  its  first  officers  was  a  most  inter¬ 
esting  function  and  the  banquet  prepared 
by  the  Jewish  ladies  in  celebration  of  the 
event  gave  the  first  impetus  to  the  form¬ 
ation  of  a  congregation.  A  committee 
of  women  was  shortly  thereafter  selec¬ 
ted.  It  co-operated  most  enthusiastically 
with  the  committee  of  men,  of  which 
Mr.  M.  Livingston  was  chairman,  to  col¬ 
lect  money  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  and 
for  the  construction  of  a  modest  Sya- 
gogue. 


(61) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


In  March,  1871,  the  articles  of  the 
Chevra  Yeshurum  Burial  Society  were 
amended  as  follows : 

“An  Act  to  Amend  the  Charter  of  the  Paducah 

Yeshurum  Burial  Society. 

“  Be  it  Enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky: 

“  1.  That  section  one  of  an  act  entitled  ‘An 
Act  to  Charter  the  Chevra  Yeshurum  Burial  So¬ 
ciety,’  approved  February  twentieth,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-four,  be  and  the  same  is  here¬ 
by  amended  by  striking  out  ‘two  thousand  dol¬ 
lars’  where  it  occurs  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof 
‘thirty  thousand  dollars.’ 

“  2.  That  said  Society  may  act  as  a  congre 
tion  for  religious  worship,  and  may  hold,  use, 
acquire  by  gift,  devise,  grant  or  purchase  such 

real  estate  and  personal  property  as  may  be  nec¬ 
essary  for  their  full  enjoyment  as  a  burial  society 
and  congregation  not  exceeding  in  value  said 
thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  if  any  of  the  present 
members  shall  not  be  willing  to  remain  in  the 
Society  under  the  amended  charter  they  shall 
have  and  retain  all  their  rights  and  privileges  to 
the  burying  ground  as  heretofore  on  paying  their 
pro  rata  dues  of  the  expense  to  uphold  the  bury¬ 
ing  ground. 

“JOHN  T.  BUNCH, 

“  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

“G.  A.  C.  HOLT, 
“Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

“Approved  15tn  March,  1871. 

“  By  the  Governor: 

“P.  H.  LESLIE. 

“  SAML.  B.  CHURCHILL, 

“  Sec’y  of  State.’’ 


(62) 


AN  AUSPICIOUS  DEDICATION. 


AN  A  USPICIOUS  DEDICA  TION. 


The  Congregation  was  formed  with 
Meyer  Lieber  as  its  first  President  and 
Henry  Burgauer  as  Secretary.  Mr.  Mor¬ 
ris  Uri,  an  ardent,  progressive  and  intel¬ 
ligent  man,  became  the  Chairman  of  the 
Building  Committee.  Funds  were  suc¬ 
cessfully  raised.  A  piece  of  ground  on 
Chestnut  street,  between  Clark  and 
Adams  (now  South  Fifth  street,)  was 
acquired,  and  a  two-story  frame  building 
was  erected  thereon.  The  Synagogue  was 
finished  and  dedicated  in  September, 
1871. 

The  exercises  connected  with  the 
dedication  of  the  building  were  impres¬ 
sive  indeed.  A  procession  was  formed 
at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Lieber,  on  Court 
street.  At  its  head  marched  the  vener¬ 
able  Mr.  Abraham  Goodheart,  who  car¬ 
ried  the  Scroll  of  the  Law,  followed  by 

(65) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


the  children  of  the  members,  the  officers 
of  the  Congregation,  the  Building  Com¬ 
mittee,  the  Mayor,  the  City  Council,  and 
many  of  its  citizens.  It  was  a  gala  day 
for  the  little  town.  A  Synagogue  was  a 
novelty  and  attracted  a  large  number  of 
people  who  up  to  that  time  had  never 
seen  such  a  house  of  worship  and  had 
but  a  faint  idea  of  Judaism,  its  princi¬ 
ples  and  ideals. 

Mr.  Uri,  as  Chairman  of  the  Build¬ 
ing  Committee,  handed  the  keys  of  the 
newly-erected  Synagogue  to  the  Presi¬ 
dent  with  a  few  well-chosen  remarks, 
and  the  first  regular  Friday  evening 
services  before  the  beginning  of  the 
holidays  in  1871  commenced,  with  a  good 
choir,  under  the  leadership  of  Reverend 
Mr.  Leon  Leopold,  who  was  elected  its 
first  Rabbi.  It  was  an  auspicious  start. 
Mr.  Leopold  officiated  as  Rabbi  and 
teacher  of  the  Sunday-school  with  zeal 
and  ability,  He  had  served  a3  reader  of 

a  Congregation  for  some  years  in  Mem- 

(66) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


phis,  Tenn.,  was  a  man  of  pleasing  ap- 
perance,  possessed  a  well-trained  tenor 
voice  and  applied  himself  diligently  to 
the  work  at  hand. 

The  first  choir  was  directed  by  Miss 
Purington,  as  organist,  and  consisted  of 
Mrs.  Henry  Weil,  Miss  Fannie  Rabb, 
Miss  Amanda  Uri,  Messrs.  B.  Bernheim, 
Henry  Dryfuss  and  Simon  Wolff.  Shortly 
thereafter  Miss  Maggie  McClellan  and 
Miss  Fannie  Uri  became  members.  Un¬ 
der  the  leadership  of  Miss  Purington,  it 
soon  became  recognized  as  the  best  mu¬ 
sical  organization  in  town,  and  many 
were  its  triumphs  during  the  first  years 
of  its  existence.  The  services  were  con¬ 
ducted  along  modern  reformed  lines, 
although  in  the  formation  of  the  Con¬ 
gregation  it  required  many  heated  meet¬ 
ings  before  a  majority  of  its  members 
abandoned  Orthodoxy. 

The  question  of  family  pews  almost 
disrupted  the  little  struggling  organiza¬ 
tion,  and  when  the  question  of  removing 

(67) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


hats  during  Divine  Worship  was  raised, 
it  created  a  perfect  storm  of  opposition. 
Only  the  tactful  management  of  Mr. 
Uri  led  to  an  honorable  compromise.  It 
was  decided  that  members  who  consci¬ 
entiously  believed  that  if  was  a  sin  to 
bare  one’s  head  during  worship  were  to 
have  the  privilege  of  keeping  their  heads 
covered.  To  the  surprise  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  (it  appeared  during  the  first  serv¬ 
ice,)  Mr.  Abraham  Goodheart  was  the 
only  member  who  adhered  to  the  Ortho¬ 
dox  rule,  which  he  persistently  did  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death. 

During  the  “Feast  of  Shevuoth  ” 
in  1872,  the  Confirmation  exercises  and 
the  services  connected  therewith  were 
very  solemn.  The  choir  was  at  its  best 
and  the  Rabbi  faced  an  audience  that 
packed  the  little  house  of  worship.  Mr. 
Leopold  was  not,  and  never  claimed  to 
be,  an  educated  theologian,  but  he  pos¬ 
sessed,  along  with  other  qualities,  a  most 

retentive  memory,  and  on  that  occasion 

(68) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


delivered  a  very  interesting  address. 

The  class  confirmed  consisted  of  Miss 
Bertha  Levy,  daugher  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Alexander  Levy;  Emil  Kahn,  son  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Nathan  Kahn;  Willie  Levy, 
son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Isaac  Levy;  Benja¬ 
min  Weille,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benja¬ 
min  W eille ;  Bennie  Lieber,  son  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  M.  Lieber, and  Sylvan  Leopold, 
son  of  Rabbi  and  Mrs.  Leopold. 

The  Confirmation  exercises  made  a 
deep  and  lasting  impression  on  the  minds 
of  the  members  of  the  Congregation. 
The  battle  for  Reform  Judaism  had  been 
won  and  the  question  of  Orthodox  Cere¬ 
monials,  which  heretofore  had  created 
discussion  and  trouble,  was  forever  put 
to  rest.  The  Congregation  Kehillah 
Kodesh  Bene  Yeshurum,  as  successor  of 
the  Che vra  Yeshurum,  became  an  insti¬ 
tution  firmly  established.  It  had  its 
struggles,  financially  and  otherwise,  par¬ 
ticularly  during  the  dark  days  of  the 

panic  year,  1872,  and  the  lean  years  fol- 

(69) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


lowing  thereafter ;  but,  to  the  credit  of 
the  Jews  of  Paducah  be  it  recorded  that 
the  doors  of  their  house  of  worship  have 
never  been  closed  since  its  inception,  nor 
has  there  ever  been  a  period  since  then 
that  every  child  of  Jewish  parents  did 
not  have  the  opportunity  to  receive  in¬ 
structions  in  the  principles  and  tenets  of 
their  faith.  The  modest  frame  building 
on  Fifth  street  served  its  purpose  well 
for  many  years.  Its  spiritual  affairs 
were  creditably  administered  from  1871 
to  1877  by  Rev.  Leon  Leopold ;  by  Rabbi 
G.  Taubenhaus  from  1879  to  1880;  Rev. 
G.  S.  Ensel  from  1880  to  1885;  Dr.  Mor¬ 
ris  Fluegel  from  1885  to  1889 ;  Rev.  L. 
Schrieber  1890  to  1891;  Rev,  M.  Unger- 
leider  1892  to  1894. 

Dr.  Morris  Fluegel  was  a  native  of 
Roumania ;  studied  in  Leipzig,  and  re¬ 
ceived  his  degree  as  Rabbi  in  Paris.  He 
was  a  man  of  decided  ability  and  high 
character.  He  left  Paducah  in  1889;  re¬ 
moved  to  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  devoted 

(70) 


IN  THE  LOWER  OHIO  VALLEY 


himself  thenceforward  to  literature.  He 
is  the  author  of  a  number  of  works 
dealing  with  religious  subjects,  which 
received  well-deserved  recognition  in 
this  country  and  in  Europe.  He  died  in 
Baltimore  in  1911,  in  his  73d  year. 

The  increasing  population  of  Padu¬ 
cah  brought  about  a  corresponding  in¬ 
crease  in  the  population  of  the  Jewish 
faith.  They  had  proven  their  faith  in 
the^  ultimate  destiny  of  the  struggling 
village  and  in  all  modesty  it  may  be 
claimed  that  the  now  beautiful  City  of 
Paducah  is  indebted  for  its  growth  and 
enterprise  and  importance  to  no  small 
extent  to  the  enterprise  of  the  merchants 
and  capitalists  of  our  belief. 

It  is  a  pleasure,  no  less  than  an  agree¬ 
able  duty  on  the  part  of  the  author  of 
this  sketch,  to  testify  from  personal  ex¬ 
perience  to  the  harmonious  relations 
which  have  always  existed  between 
Gentile  and  Jew.  Paducah,  to  this  day, 

has  remained  a  town  of  the  broadest 

(71) 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  JEWS 


democratic  principles.  All  sects  mingle 
on  a  basis  of  equality  and  good  will,  so¬ 
cially  as  well  as  commercially.  I  hope 
these  good  relations  may  ever  remain 
undisturbed  and  the  friendly  city  on  the 
beautiful  Ohio  may  prosper  and  expand 
until  it  has  attained  its  still  greater 
growth,  of  which  its  humble  inhabitants 
dreamed  in  the  long  ago. 


02) 


TEMPLE  ISRAEL . 


Temple  Israel  was  incorporated  May  24th, 
1893,  succeeding  Kelo  Kodesh  Bene  Yeshurum, 
which  in  turn  succeeded  Paducah  Chevra  Yeshu¬ 
rum  Burial  Society,  chartered  February  20th, 
1864.  The  new  Temple  was  dedicated  in  1893. 
Since  then  the  Jewish  community  has  had  a  slow 
but  steady  growth,  and  at  the  present  time  is 
more  prosperous  than  ever  in  its  history.  Tem¬ 
ple  Israel  has  a  membership  of  ninety  (90)  and 
Paducah  a  population  of  three  hundred  (300) 
Jewish  souls.  Temple  Israel  is  affiliated  with 
the  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations. 
The  community  maintains  a  relief  society,  man¬ 
aged  by  Mr.  Mose  Simon.  The  Jews  of  Paducah 
are  fortunate  in  that  they  do  not  need  to  expend 
any  money  for  the  local  relief  of  their  brethren. 
They  give  liberally  of  their  means  to  local  non- 
Jewish  institutions  and  to  National  Jewish  insti¬ 
tutions.  Most  of  our  male  adults  are  members 
of  Harmony  Lodge  I.  O.  B.  B. 

(73) 


,  ; 

jrg|g 


YESHURUM ,  PADUCAH,  KY. 


YEAR 
1879*  Rev. 

1880  Rev. 

1881  Rev. 

1882  Rev. 

1883  Rev. 

1884  Rev. 

1885  Rev. 

1886  Rev. 

1887  Rev. 

1888  Rev. 

1889  Rev. 

1890  Rev. 

1891  Rev, 

1892  Rev. 

1893  Rev. 

1894  Rev. 
1895J  Rev. 

1896  Rev. 

1897  Rev. 

1898  Rev. 

1899  Rev. 

1900  Bev. 

1901  Rev. 

1902  Rev. 

1903  Rev. 

1904  Rev. 

1905  Rev. 

1906  Rev. 

1907  Rev. 
1903  Rev. 

1909  Rev. 

1910  Rev. 

1911  Rev. 

1912  Rev. 


RABBI  PRESIDENT 
G.  Taubenhaus  M.  Bloom 
G.  Taubenhaus  M.  Bloom 
G.  S.  Ensel 


G.  S.  Ensel 
G.  S.  Ensel 
G.  S.  Ensel 
G.  S.  Ensel 
G.  S.  Ensel 
G.  S.  Ensel 
M.  Fluegel 
M.  Fluegel 
L.  Schreiber 
L.  Schreiber 


SECRETARY 
Jos.  Blum 
H.  Burgauer 
M.  Livingston  H.  Burgauer 
Moses  Kahn  Morris  Epstein 
I.  W.  Bernheim  Samuel  K.  Cohn 
M.  Kahn  S.  I.  Levy 

Leo.  Friedmanf  M.  Livingston 
Leo.  Friedman  M.  Livingston 
Leo.  Friedman  M.  Livingston 
I.  W.  Bernheim  Samuel  K.  Cohn 


M.  Bloom 
M.  Bloom 
M.  Bloom 


M.  Ungerleider  M.  Bloom 
M.  Ungerleider  M.  Bloom 
M.  Ungerleider  M.  Bloom 
M.  Ungerleider  M.  Bloom 
M.  Ungerleider  M.  Bloom 
M.  Ungerleider  M  Blcem 
H.  G.  Enelow  M.  Bloom 
H,  G.  Enelow  M.  Bloom 
G.  H.  Enelow  M.  Bloom 
David  Alexander  M.  Bloom 
David  Alexander  M.  Bloom 
David  Alexander  M.  Bloom 
David  Alexander  M.  Bloom 
Meyer  Lovitch  M.  Bloom 
Meyer  Lovitch  Sol.  Dreyfuss 
Meyer  Lovitch  Sol.  Dreyfuss 


Samuel  K.  Cohn 
Semuel  K.  Cohn 
Samuel  K.  Cohn 
Samuel  K.  Cohn 
Julius  Friedman 
Julius  Friedman 
Julius  Friedman 
Julius  Friedman 
Julius  Friedman 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 
I.  Nauheim 


Meyer  Lovitch  John  W.  Keiler  I.  Nauheim 
Meyer  Lovitch  John  W.  Keiler  I.  Nauheim 
Meyer  Lovitch  John  W.  Keiler  Jacob  Benedict 
Meyer  Lovitch  John  W.  Keiler  Jacob  Benedict 
Meyer  Lovitch  H.  Wallerstein  Jacob  Benedict 


^Records  prior  to  1879  destroyed  by  fire.  Rabbis  prior  to  1879 
Reverends  Leopold  and  Ichenbrun: 
fFather  of  Joseph  L.  Friedman. 

{Congregation's  name  reported  as  Temple  Israel. 


(74) 


MEMBERSHIP  OF  TEMPLE  ISRAEL 


JULY  i 

Ackerman,  H. 
Anspacher,  Abe 
Baer,  Mrs.  M. 
Benedict,  J. 

Bright,  Mrs.  P. 
Biederman,  Henry 
Biederman,  Jake 
Biederman,  Mrs.  A. 
Bodenheimer,  Mrs.  M. 
Brown,  Reuben 
Burgauer,  Mrs.  R. 
Cohn,  Ike 
Cohn,  Samuel 
Cohn,  S.  K. 

Dreyfuss,  Sam. 
Dreyfuss,  Sol. 
Desberger,  D. 
Desberger,  Joseph 
Elb,  Moses  L. 

Pels,  Mrs.  Jeanette 
Feis,  Samuel 
Frank,  A.  L. 

Friedman,  Herman 
Friedman,  Joseph  L. 
Friedman,  Julius 
Friedman,  Mrs.  Louise 
Greenbaum,  James 
Harris,  Mrs.  M. 
Herman,  Alfred 
Hummel,  L. 

Kahn,  Oscar, 


st,  1912. 

Keiler,  John  W. 
Keiler,  Leo  F. 

Klein,  Isadore 
Klein,  Jos. 

Klein,  Mrs.  Annie 
Laevison,  Jos. 

Levin,  Frank 
Levy,  Alfred 
Levy,  Alex. 

Levy,  David 
Levy,  Mrs.  Rose  W. 
Levy,  Mrs.  Hannah 
Levy,  Mrs.  Peppie 
Levy,  Sam.  I. 
Livingston,  Abe 
Livingston,  Harry 
Livingston,  Mrs.  A. 
Loeb,  Mrs.  R. 

Loeb,  Rudolph 
Loeb,  Sidney 
Lookofsky,  Mike 
Mark  of  sky,  Abe 
Marks,  Moses 
Marks,  Mrs.  Yetta 
May,  Mrs.  Clara 
Michael,  Chas. 
Michael,  Mike 
Michael,  Mohr 
Muth,  Jacob 
Nauheim,  Mrs.  Sophia 
Newman,  C.  B. 

(75) 


Pearson,  Ike 
Rosenthal,  Mrs.  Bessie 
Rubel,  Louis 
Rosenfield,  S. 

Schwab,  Moses 
Simon,  Moses 
Sloan,  L.  B. 

Stark,  Sam 
Steinfeld,  Dr.  M 
Solomon,  Marcus 
Tick,  Julius 
Tick,  S.  I. 

Wallerstein,  Herbert 
Wallsrstein,  Herman 


Wallerstein,  Jacob 
Wallerstein,  Melvin 
Wallerstein,  Milton 
Weil,  Adolph 
Weil,  Jacob 
Weil,  Julius 
Weil,  Mrs.  Belle  M. 
Weil,  Mrs.  Jeanette 
Weille,  Ben. 

Weille,  Chas. 

Vv'eille,  James 
Weille,  Mrs.  Jeanette 
Wolf,  Mrs.  Bertha 
Ullman,  Albert 


(76) 


Officers  and  Board  of  Directors  of  Temple 
Israel  1912-1913. 


Herman  Wallerstem 
S.  I.  Levy  - 
Jacob  Wallerstein  - 
J.  Benedict 
Buford  Ullman 
Biederman,  Jacob 
Friedman,  Jos.  L. 
Keiler,  John  W. 
Livingston,  Harry 
Loeb,  Mrs.  Sidney. 

Weil, 


President 
-  Vice-President 
Treasurer 
-  Secretary 
Warden 

Michael,  Mohr 
Nauheim,  Mrs.  Sophia 
Rubel,  Louis 
Simon,  Mose 
Weil,  Mis.  Belle  M. 
rs.  Julius 


Sabbath- School  Teachers. 

Miss  Aimee  Dreyfuss  Miss  Florence  Loeb 
Miss  Henrietta  Kahn  Mrs.  Hannah  Levy 
Miss  Lucille  Weil 


Choir. 

Mrs.  James  Gruenebaum,  -  -  Choir  Leader 

Mrs.  F.  N.  Burns, . Organist 

Mrs.  Edgar  Lyle  Mr.  Emmet  S.  Bagby 

Mr.  Slavie  Mail 


Rabbi 

MEYER  LOVITCH 


(77) 


Special  Notes. 

The  first  burial  in  the  Cemetery  was  on  Sep¬ 
tember  26th,  1864. 

Additional  names  of  Jews  here  in  1863  were 
Mr.  Shane  and  family,  Mr.  Ph.  Friedlander  and 
family  and  Mr.  Alexander  and  family. 

Mr.  Emmanuel  Fels,  for  many  years  a  resi¬ 
dent  of,  and  who  died  in  Paducah,  enlisted  in  the 
Confederate  Army  in  Arkansas,  and  served  with 
honor  during  the  entire  war.  He  was  wounded 
at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  was  taken  prisoner, 
but  escaped. 

Additional  members  of  the  original  choir  in¬ 
augurated  by  Rev.  Leopold  were :  Mesdames 
Moses  Adler,  Henry  Burgauer  and  Moses  Kahn, 
and  Miss  Hannah  Burbaum. 


(78) 


k 


UNIVER9ITY  OF  ILLIN0I9-URBANA 


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